Nobody’s Valentine: Red Sox manager feeling the heat

Thursday

Sep 20, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 20, 2012 at 1:22 PM

MATT ALGARIN and ANDREW METZ

Matt’s Take: By his own admission, the Boston Red Sox 2012 season has been “miserable.” When Bobby Valentine took the reins of the Sox back in December, I’m sure he didn’t imagine that he would see his team depleted by injuries and plagued by a bad trade that sent three of his best players out of town. Given the tough season, it’s easy to call for Valentine’s firing, especially after his recent tirade where he said he would “punch” a radio show host in the mouth for asking the long-time manager if he has “checked out” this season. The Red Sox haven’t had a losing season since 1997, but they are guaranteed to have one this year. As of Monday’s writing, the typically playoff-contending Sox were sitting in last place at 66-81, and a depressing 16.5 games behind the first place Yankees. This was after finishing 90-72 in 2011. How do you trade away Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett, and then call for Valentine to be fired? You would have to be smoking dope to expect more from this roster. Can you blame him for saying he had the “weakest roster we’ve ever had in September in the history of baseball?” Thank you Captain Obvious! While the season is already lost and no help from the minor leagues in sight, look for Red Sox fans to whine and cry as they are in for a tough stretch as a complete rebuild is needed. Big Papi is aging, Dustin Pedroia is overrated, in my opinion, and Jacoby Ellsbury isn’t going to carry any team to the playoffs, but give Bobby a chance to work with more than a minor league roster. Let’s see how this plays out for Bobby’s sake. If anything, it will be a great train wreck to watch along the way.

Andrew’s take: I’m kind of enjoying this: The pattern of self-destruction that, over the course of two seasons, has become a part of Boston Red Sox culture. Last year had more fireworks, with the epic September collapse that culminated on the last day of the regular season, but don’t let that take away from what’s happening today. Bobby Valentine might be the only guy who can repeatedly grab headlines, at the helm of one of the worst teams in baseball. By the time you read this, it will probably be outdated, because “Bobby V” moves faster than news. Just when you think you’ve heard his latest rant or shortcoming, he one-ups it. Last week, he made another controversial comment, saying that the Sox had “the weakest roster we’ve ever had in September in the history of baseball.” Since then, he’s backtracked. But who cares? The damage is done. Sweet, beautiful damage. I don’t like the guy. But, currently, I’m a big fan of his work. He’s finishing the job. He’s digging a hole for the entire organization, and it will take years to climb out. I love it. There’s nothing worse than a Boston sports fan. If you’re a Bronx Bomber, you have to experience their lack of class personally, first-hand. But if you’re a member of the Boston sports world, your day-to-day life is significantly affected by that absence. My regards to the unfortunate souls that get drafted, traded or signed to Boston. The miserable people that fill the city are not happy until you are unhappy. And now, because of the last 12 years, they expect perfection. In that time, the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins have all won their respective championships. Just try to enjoy Hurricane Valentine while you can. After this year, he’s out. Mission accomplished.